The present invention relates generally to launderable dust control floor mats and methods. More particularly, the present invention relates to a dust control floor mat incorporating segmented sections of previously used dust control floor mats to form a pile surface in a floor mat structure, methods of manufacture, methods of use, and the like.
It is well known to utilize dust control mats in locations such as door entry ways to facilitate the removal and collection of debris from the shoes of persons entering a building or other area where floors are to be maintained in a clean state. Such dust control mats typically incorporate a layer of pile-forming textile cover fabric bonded to a backing layer of rubber or rubber-like material in a vulcanizing press mold. By way of example only, one such process for forming a dust control mat is illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,692 to Kerr et al., the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein. The resulting product has a face surface formed from the pile yarns of the cover fabric for contact by the user and a rear surface formed of the rubber or rubber-like backing material for contacting the flooring surface.
As will be appreciated, dust control mats are required to undergo periodic laundering operations after periods of use. The mats may be cleaned or laundered by a laundry service which removes used, dirty mats from a location and replaces them with freshly laundered mats. Thus, both the pile-forming surface material and the underlying backing material are typically of a sufficiently strong character to withstand multiple laundering operations as well as fairly aggressive use in the form of foot traffic and shoe cleaning by users.
Notwithstanding the generally good performance of dust control mats over an extended useful life, in some instances the mats may be subjected to localized wear, damage, and/or staining at one or more locations across the mat. While such wear, damage, and/or staining may affect only a portion of the mat, the appearance of the entire structure may be adversely affected thereby often necessitating a withdrawal of the affected mat from further service.
The replacement of worn, damaged, or stained mats with new mats is costly to the user and/or the laundry service. Further, the discarding of the worn, damaged, or stained mats in landfills is expensive and may raise environmental concerns.
The present invention provides advantages and/or alternatives over the prior art by providing a dust control mat formed at least partially from recycled portions of previously used dust control mats which may or may not have been damaged or stained.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a dust control mat is provided incorporating a pile-forming surface layer at least a portion of which is formed from segments of previously used dust control mats. The pile-forming surface layer may also include segments of virgin pile material. Both the virgin and previously used surface components may be arranged in a coordinated fashion across a common backing layer and affixed in place across the backing layer by adhesive means or during a vulcanization process so as to establish a coordinated structure.
According to one potentially preferred aspect of the present invention, a dust control mat structure is provided including a pile-forming surface layer of arranged segments of recycled mat material arranged intermittently with virgin pile-forming material. The yarns forming the exterior surface of the recycled mat material may be of either similar or dissimilar character to the yarns within the virgin pile-forming material to achieve desired appearance and performance characteristics.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, a process for forming a dust control mat from recycled portions of previously used dust control mats is provided. In such a process, portions of previously used dust control mats may be arranged in a coordinated fashion with other segments of material across a rubber or rubber-like backing sheet and thereafter fused or adhesively bonded to the rubber backing sheet to yield a coordinated structure. The segments of recycled mat material may be in virtually any geometric form as may provide desired coverage across the underlying backing layer. The material utilized to form the pile surface of the resulting mat structure may be either completely recycled material or may incorporate segments of recycled material in combination with cooperating segments of virgin pile-forming surface material.
The present invention is believed to permit the extended use of undamaged portions of previously used dust control mats thus reducing the amount of waste which must be discarded upon the occurrence of a damaging or staining event as well as reducing the raw material requirements for forming the mat. Accordingly, it is believed that the present invention provides a useful advantage over the prior art.